7 Finest SaaS Accounting Software program Options: In-Depth Information

Estimated learn time: 13 minutes, 7 seconds

SaaS accounting software program may also help you automate:

• Recurring invoicing.
• Fee processing.
• Remitting taxes. 
• Fee reconciliation.
• Fee reminders.
• Subscription administration.
• Reporting.
• Expense monitoring.
• Payroll.
• And extra …

Nonetheless, it’s nearly inconceivable to seek out one accounting software program resolution that satisfies all of your wants as a SaaS firm. Even software program that advertises SaaS-specific options isn’t a whole resolution. 

For instance, many accounting software program provide a solution to accumulate funds, nonetheless, it’s usually just for United States funds, not worldwide funds. If you wish to accumulate worldwide funds, you’ll probably want a further fee resolution that focuses on world fee processing. 

That’s why most SaaS corporations find yourself layering a number of level options on prime of generic accounting software program to construct the answer they want.

On this information, we examine seven accounting software program choices by masking what every one can and may’t do. Specifically, we begin with an in-depth look into the options our platform, FastSpring, gives and the way we tackle transaction and gross sales tax legal responsibility for you. 

Desk of Contents

FastSpring is an end-to-end fee resolution for corporations promoting digital merchandise and software-as-a-service. We assist you to collect and remit oblique tax (e.g., gross sales tax, VAT, GST), stability month-to-month transactions, ship recurring invoices and accumulate funds, and way more. To see how we may also help you rapidly develop globally, join a free account or request a demo immediately. 

FastSpring: Gross sales Tax, Transaction Reconciliation, Fee Processing, and Extra for Software program Firms

FastSpring gives options for:

• Gathering and remitting U.S. gross sales tax and worldwide VAT and GST.
• International fee processing.
• Sending invoices and fee reminders.
• Reconciling transactions with achievement.
• Reporting.
• Rather more …

However FastSpring does extra than simply present software program for a couple of points of accounting — we’re Service provider of Report (MoR) for SaaS corporations. 

As your MoR, we deal with all of those duties for you. Plus, we tackle transaction legal responsibility and the duty of calculating, gathering, and remitting gross sales tax, VAT, and GST.

Within the following sections, we dig deeper into how FastSpring helps SaaS corporations develop globally whereas simplifying accounting duties. 

Word: You will have further accounting software program for payroll, revenue tax, inside stability sheets, and so forth. FastSpring simply integrates with different options (e.g., QuickBooks) by way of extensions, webhooks, and an API. 

“One of many key components [for switching to FastSpring] was the truth that FastSpring was easing our administrative burden relating to world tax and VAT administration, and the variety of invoices that we would have liked to register.” 
– Ovi Negrean, Co-founder and Chief Government Officer

Totally Managed Gross sales Tax, VAT, and GST

SaaS corporations didn’t at all times must pay gross sales tax, VAT, and GST, nonetheless, that’s now not the case. Increasingly nations are passing legal guidelines that require non-resident SaaS corporations to collect and remit some type of oblique tax. For those who don’t, you might face heavy fines and/or be banned from transacting in that jurisdiction. 

Most accounting software program will assist you to add gross sales tax (assuming you’ve configured the choices and settings accurately) to invoices and generate experiences for remitting gross sales tax. Nonetheless, accounting software program is often insufficient for:

• Calculating and gathering VAT or GST. If you wish to transact exterior of the U.S., you’ll be fully by yourself to calculate and remit VAT, GST, and different types of oblique tax.
• Including gross sales tax to purchases in your web site. Some accounting software program will provide a fee portal the place prospects can settle invoices. Nonetheless, that is fully separate from any checkout you will have in your web site, which suggests you’ll want totally different software program for gathering oblique tax in your web site (which suggests additional price and additional work).

Plus, you’re in the end held answerable for all tax legal responsibility. Sustaining tax compliance is usually extra sophisticated than merely gathering and remitting the correct quantity (and sort) of oblique tax on the proper occasions. 

For instance:

• International locations resembling Serbia, the UK, Taiwan, and others require digital invoicing (from resident and non-resident corporations alike), which might price corporations $2k-$5k per yr. Word: E-invoicing mandates are growing at an alarming fee — the EU is rolling out common digital invoicing necessities by 2028.
• International locations resembling India, Indonesia, Japan, and others require your account to be “pre-funded” that means it’s important to predict the quantity of tax you’ll owe and maintain that cash in your account till it’s time to remit the funds (typically as much as three months upfront).
• International locations resembling Colombia, Japan, Mexico, Serbia, and others require native illustration. This implies somebody with a bodily presence (often a lawyer or accountant) in that nation needs to be answerable for your tax legal responsibility, which might price anyplace from $5k to $15k per yr.
• International locations resembling Taiwan, Indonesia, Nigeria, Vietnam, and others require you to file an revenue or income tax return when you begin gathering oblique tax, which might add as much as $5-$10k per yr. 

That’s why most SaaS corporations find yourself hiring full-time tax accountants and specialists to deal with oblique tax. 

FastSpring simplifies the complete course of and makes it very easy so as to add all types of oblique tax to invoices (and accumulate it at checkout) by dealing with it for you.

With over 20 years of expertise submitting 1,200+ tax returns annually in 100+ jurisdictions, our staff ensures the correct quantity (and sort) of oblique tax is collected (we even deal with tax-exempt transactions within the U.S. and 0% reverse costs when relevant). 

Then, our staff remits these taxes for you and ensures all the mandatory procedures are in place to remain compliant. We’ve got long-standing relationships with tax specialists globally to remain present on regulation modifications, enforcement updates (typically particular industries are focused), and tendencies they’re seeing with different software program corporations.

If a rustic or state approaches you about tax compliance, our staff will typically give you copy-and-paste responses. 

Quote Administration and Recurring Invoicing

With most accounting software program, you’ll be able to simply handle B2B subscriptions in your web site, however not B2C transactions — which is why many corporations find yourself with two totally different options. Which means double the associated fee and double the work. 

With FastSpring, you’ll be able to handle B2B and B2C transactions from one platform.

FastSpring gives a number of choices for organising totally different subscription fashions resembling: 

• Fastened, per seat, metered, tiered, and bundled billing.
• Prorated billing to accommodate upgrades and downgrades mid-cycle.
• Computerized or guide renewal.
• Upsells, cross-sells, one-time charges, reductions, and presents.
• And way more …

Then, you can also make these merchandise out there in your web site:

Alternatively, you’ll be able to add the merchandise to quotes and invoices utilizing FastSpring’s Digital Invoicing instrument. With Digital Invoicing, your staff can create and handle quotes and invoices (e.g., add reductions and tags, set the expiration date, depart notes for the client, observe the acquisition course of). 

You can even provide a self-serve portal the place prospects can generate their very own quotes or invoices primarily based on gadgets of their cart. 

Worldwide Fee Processing

Most accounting software program will provide easy fee processing for transactions within the U.S., nonetheless, most solely help a couple of fee varieties (e.g., Mastercard, Visa, ACH) and hardly any of them present fee processing for worldwide fee strategies or currencies. To just accept worldwide funds, you’d must combine with and handle further fee processors. 

FastSpring makes it very easy to just accept tons of most well-liked fee strategies world wide (by way of checkout or bill) by:

• Managing a number of fee gateways for you. Every fee gateway has particular nations, fee strategies, and currencies that they help. For instance, a fee processor might help Amazon Pay in america however they gained’t course of funds from Brazil. With FastSpring, you’ll mechanically have entry to a number of fee gateways focusing on worldwide transactions (and transactions in america).
• Offering foreign money conversions at checkout and on invoices. You possibly can set the value for every product in every foreign money or let FastSpring make the conversions for you. You can even let your prospects select their most well-liked foreign money (and language) or let FastSpring select the suitable one primarily based on their location. 

“Having many fee strategies which might be at all times related to every totally different area world wide has helped us obtain important development worldwide.”

– Ovi Negrean, Co-founder and Chief Government Officer

To pay an bill, prospects merely click on on the ‘Pay Now’ button on the backside of the bill (as proven beneath). 

This can take prospects to both a popup checkout or an online storefront hosted by FastSpring, relying on what you select. Both one could be very customizable by way of the feel and appear of the checkout. 

Word: You need to use this identical checkout in your web site, and also you’ll have the choice to embed the checkout in your webpage, for those who favor. Plus, you need to use FastSpring’s Retailer Builder Library to customise the customer journey main as much as checkout (e.g., cross-sells, upsells).

Lastly, you’ll be able to configure FastSpring to ship out fee reminders two, 5, seven, fourteen, and twenty-one days after a fee technique fails. In our expertise, sending out a number of fee reminders is one of the best ways to make sure ongoing fee.  

Simplified Transaction and Achievement Reconciliation

Most accounting software program will assist you to automate the method of constructing positive the funds you obtain match the orders being stuffed. Despite the fact that it’s automated, it may be an enormous process to confirm that the automation labored accurately and to repair any imbalances. 

Plus, worldwide transactions make it extra sophisticated as a result of you will have funds coming in by way of totally different gateways (and due to this fact totally different software program suppliers) and into a number of service provider accounts. 

As MoR, FastSpring simplifies transaction reconciliation by dealing with it for you. We take all the transactions along with your shoppers and bundle them into one or two lump sum funds which we ship to you a few times monthly. 

As a substitute of spending hours balancing tons of or 1000’s of transactions every month, you spend only a few minutes balancing one or two transactions from FastSpring. 

You continue to have full management over your product (i.e., the way it’s bundled, the pricing mannequin, how a lot is offered, the place you wish to promote it, achievement, and so forth.).

Detailed Reporting for SaaS KPIs

FastSpring presents a built-in reporting function that can assist you discover the data it’s good to create widespread accounting experiences (e.g., breakeven report or stability sheet). Most experiences might be discovered within the Income Overview dashboard or the Subscription Overview dashboard, however you too can create and save customized experiences. 

For those who don’t see the precise report you want, you’ll be able to attain out to our staff and we’ll assist you to discover (or construct) the mandatory experiences.

Any report might be considered in your dashboard or downloaded as a CSV, PNG, or XLSX file. You can even combine our Analytics and Reporting function with third-party software program to drag in or ship out information. 

Easy Flat-Charge Pricing

All points of FastSpring can be found for one flat-rate worth primarily based on the quantity of transactions you progress by way of our platform. And, there aren’t any upfront costs — you’ll solely be charged when a transaction takes place. 

“We had been targeted on not solely discovering an ecommerce platform that labored but additionally on constructing a relationship and partnership, which I consider is essential. You don’t wish to purchase one thing after which be alone. You want a superb partnership. Ultimately, we picked FastSpring as a result of they confirmed us they wished to be a real accomplice.” 

– Frederic Linfjärd, Digital Industrial Supervisor at Seize One

FastSpring is extra than simply software program for some points of accounting — we’re your Service provider of Report. To see how we may also help you rapidly develop globally, join a free account or request a demo immediately. 

Construct Your Personal SaaS Accounting Answer

Along with FastSpring, you’ll want software program to handle issues like payroll and revenue tax. Subsequent, we’ll cowl six extra choices that present options for these areas.

6 Different Accounting Software program

1. Maxio (Previously SaaSOptics)

SaaSOptics is likely one of the most well-known instruments for monitoring SaaS metrics (e.g., month-to-month recurring income), SaaS income recognition, and SaaS expense monitoring. They lately merged with Chargify (a subscription administration platform) to type Maxio.

Whereas Maxio has loads to supply SaaS corporations, they don’t tackle transaction or oblique tax legal responsibility for you. Plus, you’ll want further software program for issues like accepting most well-liked fee strategies world wide. (They do work with Avatax that can assist you accumulate gross sales tax and VAT, however the performance is proscribed). 

Maxio presents options for: 

• Recurring billing.
• Income administration.
• Expense amortization.
• Integrating with fee gateways.
• Analytics, reporting, and forecasting.

2. Oracle NetSuite

Oracle NetSuite is a enterprise administration suite that gives options for accounting, B2B and B2C ecommerce, ERP, CRM, and way more. They serve many various industries together with software program corporations. Additionally they help all sizes of companies from SaaS startups to enterprises. 

Word: NetSuite gives single-seat entry to streamline communication between your organization and your CPA.

NetSuite consists of options for: 

• Monetary reporting.
• Income recognition.
• Automated normal ledger spreadsheets.
• Tax reporting.
• Income administration.
• Venture planning and budgeting.

3. QuickBooks

QuickBooks by Intuit is a well-liked accounting resolution for small to midsize companies and startups. They provide an on-premise and a cloud-based model (known as Quickbooks On-line). 

QuickBooks wasn’t particularly designed for SaaS corporations. As a substitute, QuickBooks recommends SaaS corporations combine with SaaSOptics to get the metrics and functionalities they want.

QuickBooks presents:

• Payroll administration instruments.
• Accounts receivable and payable instruments.
• Time monitoring instruments.
• Instruments for maximizing tax deductions.
• Digital bookkeepers that can assist you to with easy accounting duties.
• Fee processing on-line or in individual for some debit and bank cards, ACH, Apple Pay, PayPal and Venmo.
• Actual-time enterprise experiences (e.g., revenue and loss statements, money movement statements)

4. FreshBooks

FreshBooks presents accounting instruments to freelancers and corporations with a number of staff or contractors. They serve a number of industries together with know-how, development, accounting and extra. They cost you primarily based on what number of billing shoppers you’ve got that month beginning with 5 billing shoppers as much as limitless shoppers. 

Freshbooks presents: 

• Fee processing for MasterCard, Visa, Apple Pay, Uncover and ACH.
• Venture estimations and administration.
• Mileage and time monitoring.
• Payroll.
• Bookkeeping.
• Invoicing.
• Reporting.

5. Stripe

Stripe is a fee processor that may be built-in along with your accounting software program options that can assist you settle for and handle funds. Though their platform focuses on getting buyer funds into your checking account, they do provide a couple of accounting-related companies resembling income recognition. 

Stripe serves many various industries, together with SaaS, at many various phases of development, together with early-stage startups. Nonetheless, on this article on Stripe options, we focus on why Stripe is probably not the only option for SaaS corporations. In brief, corporations that select Stripe as their fee platform typically find yourself with a big software program stack to handle. 

Stripe gives options for: 

• Your web site checkout.
• Gathering gross sales tax at checkout.
• Fraud and threat administration.
• Recurring invoicing and subscriptions.
• Knowledge warehouse administration. 
• In-person funds.

6. Xero

Xero is an accounting system for small companies, accountants, and bookkeepers. Xero is one other software program that doesn’t straight serve SaaS companies, and as a substitute presents an integration with SaaSOptics. 

Xero’s options embody:

• Accounts payable and money movement automation.
• Spend administration and reimbursements.
• A number of checking account integrations.
• On-line invoicing and funds.
• Payroll.
• Venture administration.

FastSpring handles worldwide oblique tax, fee processing, digital invoicing, subscription administration, dunning, and way more for you. Join a free account or request a demo immediately.